The Suspect
by ChuckNorrisLeftFist
Summary: Dave K. is the only suspect in Kurt's disappearance. COMPLETED: A lot of things are different for Karofsky, some things he doesn't like, but he's still got the constants to hang onto, and that'll work.
1. Chapter 1

Dave Karofsky was trying to concentrate on the final question of the English test, to make his mind think clearly about friendship and loyalty in _Julius Caesar_, when the classroom speaker buzzed. "Will David Karofsky come to the Principal's Office immediately?" Heads immediately swiveled to watch him shrug, gather his books, hand the mostly-complete test to Mr. Sayed, and leave.

He had no idea what was going on and, truth be told, didn't care much. But when he turned into Principal Figgins' office and saw his father there, looking alarmed and heated, and two police officers, he clenched his fists in fear. Something had happened to his mom or his sister...

"What's happened, dad?"

Before his father could answer, the female officer stepped forward. "You're David Karofsky." Dave nodded, still ignoring Principal Figgins, who was pressing his chair as far back from the desk, Dave and his father, and the police officers as he could. "I'm Officer Hammond and this is Officer Slane. We have some questions for you."

"Dad, are mom and Stacey all right?"

"Yes, son...they need to ask about-"

"Have you seen or spoken to Kurt Hummel lately?"

His gut had unclenched when his father answered, but now it seemed as though somebody had grabbed it and squeezed, hard. "No, not since he transferred. What-"

"Dave, are you sure?" His father was looking directly into his eyes, with an expression that Dave had never seen before and never wanted to see again. There was worry, which wasn't even that new, but underlying them, suspicion and even fear in them. "He's disappeared."

"What? When?"

"So you're saying that you know nothing about his disappearance." Officer Hammond glanced at his partner.

"Yeah, that's right. Why, is somebody saying that I...because I didn't."

"Have you been near Dalton Academy in the last 72 hours?"

"No, and I wouldn't have any reason to go there." Dave heard his voice start to rise and tried to take deep breaths to calm down. He saw the two police officers exchange a longer glance and could feel the sweat break out on his hands. "What...what happened to him?"

Officer Slane looked at him for a long moment, pursing his lips and narrowing his eyes. "We were hoping you could tell us. There was blood near his car. A lot of blood and it was all his. We've got plenty of people to say that you bullied him. He complained that he was afraid because you threatened his life. His father says he transferred to get away from you. And now we've got a lot of blood, no Kurt Hummel."

His father had barely waited for Slane to finish. "That's enough. Son, you don't have to answer any more questions."

"That's right, you don't. And you can have a lawyer present." Slane paused. "Do you think you need one?" Dave hated the way Slane was looking at him, the taunting eyes and stance of somebody who's got all the power and _likes_ using it.

Dave put a hand on the back of a chair. Hummel had disappeared and there was blood. Hummel had to be all right. He reminded himself that he couldn't stand the little princess, even if he wanted...well, wanted everything. He only barely heard his father saying, "Unless you're going to arrest my son, I'm taking him home."

"Oh, no, that's fine. Just, Dave? Don't leave the area without letting us know, okay?" Slane was smirking in a way that said all too clearly that he wasn't asking.

His father tugged at his arm. "Come on, Dave, I'm driving you home." Dave felt like he had when he had a bad flu. Everything was foggy and off center as he followed his father out the building. When they got into the car, his father turned to look at him.

"David, answer me honestly. Did you have anything to do with this boy disappearing?"

"Dad, no! I...I wouldn't do that."

"All right, then." His father didn't look at him again during the drive home.


	2. Chapter 2

When they got home, Dave went upstairs to his room without a word to his mother or even his kid sister. He sat heavily on his bed, staring at the wall. His own father didn't believe him. Well, maybe that wasn't quite true, but his own father wasn't quite sure.

He looked down to find that he'd picked up his phone and pulled up Azimio's number. It had been pure instinct. He pushed the Talk button and hoped Azimio would answer.

"What's up, man?"

"Yeah, listen."

"Something's wrong."

The unspoken "tell me, I need to know" was the first bit of reassurance Dave had gotten since he first saw the police. "Hummel's disappeared. And the cops think I did it."

"What? Man, no way! He was out of our hair, why would they think you even thought about him any more?"

"I...I did kind of push him around." He paused, drawing a deep breath. "And you know he'd just transferred because of me...they found his car and a lot of blood. I guess they tested it and it was his. So now they think I...hurt him or something."

"That's messed up." Dave nodded, and waited for Azimio to come up with an idea. His brother from another mother always had an idea for something. "Dude, are they serious?"

"Really serious." Dave had to clear his throat several times. "Even my own dad isn't sure that I didn't."

"Did he say that?" He hadn't heard his friend's voice that high since before his voice changed. "I'm coming on over."

"No, don't do that, not tonight. I...I got to think."

"Okay, you do your thinking thing and I'll see you tomorrow. I got your back, bro. You know that."

Dave's throat tightened. "Thanks."

"What for? Bye, dude."

Dave showed up at the dining room table for dinner but the first smell of the roast potatoes, meatloaf, and dressing on the spinach salad made him want to be sick. Stacey looked at the rest of her family in confusion and Dave tried to smile at her. She frowned with all of the concentration of a nine-year-old and shot him a "What's wrong with you?" look. "Sorry, Stace, I'm just not feeling that great."

She fixed him with a laser-intent stare. "When are you going to feel better? You've been weird for a long time and I don't like it."

"I'll be better soon, honest. And we can do some jigsaw puzzles tonight, okay?" Usually that was more than enough to make her happy.

She looked at him uncertainly and gulped down the rest of her milk.

Dave stopped trying to make himself eat more than a few bites. "May I be excused?"

His father nodded without looking at him and his mother looked at him with worried eyes that he could see were just barely fighting tears. "Davey...you know you can tell us about anything, anything, don't you?"

"Yeah, mom, I do," he sighed and got up.

Up in his room, it was as hard to keep Kurt Hummel out of his mind, as hard as if Hummel were right there in the room with him. He could picture, all too clearly, blood in the parking lot snow. Hummel was a fighter, in his own way. But fighters can be overpowered. It didn't matter if it was somebody bigger and stronger or if it was just the way that fate, or whatever it was, could grab a life, rip it to pieces, and leave you there trying to hold together whatever's left, like trying to cover all your naked body with just a handful of cloth, and pretend that nothing was wrong. That was the one thing, one _other _thing, that he and Hummel had in common. They were both trying to hold it together, swagger or strut through life when underneath, it was nothing but being scared.

Dave turned his phone on again, just to feel connected. He looked at his text messages. There were at least ten from that crazy Berry chick. He deleted those but couldn't help seeing some of the words, threatening him if he'd done anything to harm Kurt. He looked through the rest of the list and saw that the only member of that Glee cult that hadn't texted him angry accusations and direct threats was Puckerman. Puckerman hadn't texted anything more than "See you tomorrow." But Dave knew what that meant.

Were the police even looking for anybody else? Probably not. Probably not when they had somebody who had a history of violence, and if that prep school boyfriend of Hummel's talked, had one hell of a motive beyond what they already knew about. Who else was there, even? He or Azimio would know if anybody else from school had gone looking for trouble over getting Dave expelled, and it wasn't even like the expulsion lasted long enough to keep him out of a game.

Dave put his head in his hands. Unless the police found somebody else to pin it on, he was royally screwed.


	3. Chapter 3

Dave texted Azimio to meet him in the parking lot the next morning. When his friend strode up, Dave couldn't believe how relieved he felt. Azimio punched his shoulder as if nothing was any different. "So what's happening now?"

"I think I'm the only suspect they've got." He briefly outlined the reasons. "We have to find who else would have done it," he concluded. "I don't think they're looking very hard."

"You don't need to tell a brother about being the automatic suspect." Azimio paused. "So where do we start?"

Dave shrugged. The heaviness that had lifted for a moment fell right on top of him again. "I don't know."

"You mean I've got to do the thinking, too?" Azimio was trying to laugh. "Well, this morning, we can ask around, see how knows somebody who knows something."

"Yeah, sure."

"Dude, you know this is serious, right? You've got to come up with some of that fighting spirit."

"Yeah. I just...I just wish this hadn't ever started."

"Me too, man. But it's what we've got, so let's deal."

Azimio dapped his fist and Dave followed him into the school.

He was used to people getting out of his way in the halls, but this was different. They were keeping away like he was contaminated. Conversations stopped when he walked by and then buzzed right up again the moment he was past them. He didn't see any of the Glee kids until third period, when Santana came right up to him. "I am going to make sure that you pay for this."

He didn't even have the energy to shove her away. "Fuck off, I didn't."

"Riiiight." She suddenly crooked her first and ring fingers and pushed straight for his eyes. He flinched automatically and saw that the other students were standing around in perfect silence. No urging them on, nothing like that. She kicked for his groin and he heard a voice shouting, "Stop that, Santana!" It was Mr. Schuester, the Glee director, who pulled her away.

Her frozen anger broke as suddenly as she had attacked him. She struggled to get out of Mr. Schuester's hold, screaming and sobbing. "He's done something to Kurt, maybe he killed him, and you're all just standing there!"

Mr. Schuester met Dave's eyes. "Go to Mr. Figgins' office. It's best that you go home."

* * *

Azimio heard about the fight by the middle of fourth period. At first he didn't believe that Karofsky had simply stood there and not done anything, but then he remembered just how slow and stunned Dave had seemed earlier. He texted Dave "U ok?"

"I'm home."

"You find anything?"

"No."

Azimio skipped Geometry to go out and try to think. He was acing Geometry—it was the only subject he loved—so it didn't matter. Not that he'd have cared about his grades when his friend was in trouble.

What if Hummel himself had staged this? Why would the opposing team pick that play? Maybe because he wanted to punish Dave? Maybe he didn't like that new prep boy school and wanted to get rid of Dave to come back to McKinley? Dave considered it, and then rejected the idea. He couldn't see Hummel doing that to his friends. He could tell when there was a real bond and when it was just people who hung out together or were on the same team, and those were real bonds.

He had no idea what they'd do even if they figured out who else would have a reason to take out Hummel. The rest of the Glee club freaks were the only ones who spent any time with him and it's not like anybody was fighting with him over a girl. Sure, people picked on him, but that's just what he was asking for by not hiding what a freak he was, with his little girl voice and girl clothes. Maybe it was just somebody walking by who felt like clobbering a freak.

Or what if it was somebody who wanted a freak? If Hummel were a pretty girl, they'd be looking at that angle. Were there any fag rapists hanging around? Or people who bought gays like they bought girls? If it was robbery, whoever had taken him would have taken that car, too, because those were some sweet wheels, but if it was some kind of gay-napping, they wouldn't want the car.

Or what if it wasn't even about Hummel being all gay? Just because he kept running around like he was yelling at everybody "I'm gay! I'm gay!" it didn't mean that there couldn't be anything else. What if it was somebody trying to mess with Karofsky? He'd seen enough movies and tv shows where somebody set up another person for a murder rap. But who hated Karofsky enough for that? Sure, his man Karofsky could make enemies, but disappearing or killing another person just to set him up was cold.

Or was just a regular kidnapping? But then either Mr. Hummel wouldn't have called the cops, or the cops would be looking for a real kidnapper. He'd seen Mr. Hummel all over Kurt after that one game and Karofsky had told him all about that time Mr. Hummel had tried to strangle him, just for making a bit of fun of Kurt. He'd pay anything it would take to get his son back, that much was clear.

Or what if it was all about Mr. Hummel and not really about Kurt Hummel at all? He knew that if anybody wanted to hurt his own mama, really hurt so that nothing would ever be good again, they'd hurt one of her kids. Maybe it was something like that.

Okay, maybe it was money kidnapping or about Mr. Hummel. He called Dave and got the response, "Maybe. I can't think of anything else."

"I got a cousin who works at the bar near his shop. Let's go ask him if he knows anything. Maybe Mr. Hummel said something or somebody else, or he's seen somebody hanging around."

"Yeah. Meet you there."

Azimio smiled as he put the phone back in his pocket. Even if he was wrong, he'd gotten his friend sounding more like himself again.

He got there before Dave and found Chuck starting to prep for the lunch crowd. "What are you doing here, kid? You should be back in school and you know it."

"It's my friend who's in trouble."

"What kind of trouble? I don't have any extra cash until payday."

"It's not like that. You know Burt Hummel, right?"

"Yeah. He and his guys come in for a beer after work, sometimes. I'm just getting off my shift when that happens, though."

"This is going to sound weird, but do you know if he or that faggot kid of his have anybody who'd want to hurt them?"

"I don't like you using that word." Chuck straightened up and looked down at him from his full 6 foot 8. "If God decided to make him that way, then you're disrespecting what God made. You hear me? Do you hear me?"

"Sorry," Azimio muttered, and then, when Chuck was still looking pissed off, added another, louder. "Sorry. Anyway, do you know if anybody wanted to hurt them?"

"Why do you want to know?"

Azimio saw Dave walk in and waved him over. "Chuck, this is my friend Dave Karofsky. Dave, this is Chuck."

"Good to meet you." Dave looked so subdued that Azimio was even more worried.

"So the problem is that Kurt Hummel disappeared and the cops think my man Dave had something to do with it." Chuck narrowed his eyes and Azimio added, "I know Dave and if he'd had anything to do with it, he'd have said. He'd never lie to me."

Dave winced like that hurt, but Azimio went on. "So if there's anybody else who might want to hurt Mr. Hummel or his son-" Azimio looked right at Chuck to make sure that he noticed the change in words, "We need to know."

"Planning on playing detective? That was cute when you were still eating paste, but now, let the cops do their thing."

"The cops think they know already." Dave muttered.

Chuck drew a deep breath, then let it out in a loud sigh. "Okay, I hear you, but I don't know of anything. Mike's on that shift, though. Come back around six."

* * *

Dave and Azimio were back at the bar by five. Without any better idea of what to do in the meantime, they had gone through every abandoned building they could find. Most of them were already broken into, so it was just a matter of searching from top to bottom.

Any time he found somebody huddled under a blanket or with their face otherwise hidden, Dave had to keep from pounding them into the ground when he yanked away the blanket or turned them around and they weren't Kurt. This time, though, the fear he saw in their eyes and posture when they saw him and Azimio didn't bring a rush of pride. He was too scared to feel anything but increasingly sick with terror.

At the bar, Chuck came over to their table. "Nothing new?" Dave shook his head. If he said anything, he knew he'd lose it. It felt like his thoughts were all surrounding him and pushing him amongst themselves, like the football players did when they surrounded a vulnerable freshman. "They'll love you in jail, gay boy." _Shove. _The image of snow partially melted with the heat of blood, stained every shade of red. _Shove._ The look of mistrust in his father's eyes. _Shove._ Every slight figure that wasn't Hummel. _Shove. _The silently reached verdict he saw in the eyes at school. _Shove._

"Mike's not here yet, but sometimes he's early. I'll bring him right over when he comes." Chuck paused, then added, "Dinner's on me tonight."

Dave tried to distract himself with the game on the television and Azimio did the same. Dave couldn't believe just how grateful he was for Azimio understanding enough to keep his mouth shut. He kept checking his watch and finally Chuck brought over a short, middle-aged man with wiry, thinning grey hair that stuck out every which way. "Guys, this is Mike. I told him the basics."

"Chuck said you're in some serious _tsuris_, big troubles." His accent was pure New York. "What do you need to know?"

Dave found his voice. "They think I did something to Kurt Hummel. The cops don't care about finding anybody but me."

"So the cops think you did it? And why's that?"

"I kind of picked on him, and it went...pretty far, I guess. But I didn't...do this."

"Nu, if that doesn't teach you the lesson, nothing will. Now the guys from the garage come in, some of them, shmooze about their day, but nobody says anything about the kid. Sure, they joke, say he's a little bird, but nobody leaned over and said they want to dig him a shallow grave somewhere."

Dave shivered at the expression. It was like he was seeing every word digging a grave for him. "What about his dad, would anybody want to hurt his dad?"

"There you're using your head." Mike tilted his head back and thought. "Now, two months ago, maybe more, maybe less, there was a screwup he'd fired that day. I can't remember much of him, but he was sitting over there, drinking and muttering like a _farbissener_, somebody poisoned with bitterness."

"Do you remember his name, anything more?" Azimio was sitting straight up again.

"No, sorry, a blank. Tall, short, don't remember anything. But the garage will have all the papers, everything has to have papers."

Dave stood up. "Thanks, thanks a lot." He was halfway to the door when Azimio stopped him.

"So how do we get the records? Do you think Hummel's old man would let us anywhere near?"

Dave knew the answer to that question. "We've got to find somebody to help."

* * *

AN: Well, it's not going exactly as I'd planned. Reviews are much appreciated!


	4. Chapter 4

Finn jumped every time the phone rang. Carole was the closest and checked the caller ID. "It's the police."

"Hello?" Finn hated hearing her voice sound so tired and scared. He listened anxiously for any indication of good news, since her face was unchanged as she listened.

"All right. Thank you. We appreciate it." She hung up and turned to Finn. "They took him in for questioning today, all day. They didn't get anything."

"How could he do that to Kurt? Kurt never did anything to him!" Finn knew he kept asking the question every time he spoke to anybody about his brother's disappearance, but he couldn't help it. A question that important had to have an answer _somewhere_. "Why don't they just arrest him?"

His mom closed her eyes. "I don't know. Maybe they think that he'll lead them to Kurt."

Finn didn't want to ask the other big question. Or at least he didn't want to ask his mom. Burt was looking almost as grey as he had in the hospital. The doctor had given him a prescription for mild sedatives and Carole made him take them, but they only seemed to help a little.

The phone rang again. Carole looked at the display. "It's blocked." She turned away. Since the police had finally declared Kurt officially missing and the news had picked up on the story, it was mostly friends and family calling, and even complete strangers, trying to offer support and help. The local temples, the mosque in Lima and two in Dayton, and almost all the local churches had called to say they were offering prayers during services for Kurt's safe return. Breadstix had sent over meals every night, and so had two other restaurants. People Carole and Burt hadn't seen for years called to ask what they could do.

But there were also the sleazy journalists who wanted to record somebody breaking down and the sickos calling to say that Kurt deserved whatever happened to him. They never, ever, picked up a call from a blocked number, not after those first few calls.

The doorbell rang and Finn got up to look through the peephole. "Hi, Mr. Schue." Will came in and hugged him and Finn wrapped his arms around his teacher. Mr. Schue had come over nearly every night, just to sit quietly with them. Sometimes he talked, sometimes he didn't, depending on their moods.

Carole came over and Will also hugged her. "Where's Burt?"

"He's upstairs, resting. He didn't sleep at all last night." Will tightened his grip and then went to the kitchen to make coffee. The tiny noises from the kitchen, the brief clinks of mugs against the countertop, the cupboard doors closing, made the house seem a bit less empty. When Kurt was around, there was always so much more sound in the house, his voice, the bustle of his tidying up, the way that he could comment at length when reading a magazine just by the way he turned the pages. A disgusted snap when he hated a fashion layout, a fast rustle through the pages to follow a story he was enjoying, or the barely audible swish of an exacto knife that Kurt kept especially for cutting out the spreads he wanted to keep in his fashion inspiration folders. He had two file cabinets full of those and a third filling up. Finn felt the tears in his eyes again. Kurt had to come back, to fill the house with his ripples of personality and activity.

Mr. Schue came back with the coffee in three mugs just as the phone rang again. "It's blocked," he said, looking over at it. "Do you want me to-"

"Don't answer it," Carole immediately responded.

As they sat down, Finn got his homework out of his bag. His teachers had all been really nice, but going to school and having homework helped. Nothing felt normal and sometimes he thought it never would again, but it was something to do.

Even Coach Sylvester had been nice, at least, nice in a Sue Sylvester way. She marched into his study halls and the one time when he'd been trying not to cry, she dragged him from his chair by the ear and made him wash her car, barking directions at him so often that he didn't have time to think. Mercedes told him later that Sue had done kind of the same thing to her. When she'd seen Mercedes crying in the hallway, she'd driven her to the Humane Society, kicked out the volunteer who was busy cleaning cages, telling the volunteer to go get a life, and then made Mercedes clean the cages. Twice. On the other hand, she'd actually hugged Brittany, before making her run 50 laps. Backwards.

Finn went upstairs to get his Spanish dictionary. His phone was charging on the desk and he picked it up when he saw that he had two missed calls. They were both from Karofsky.

He couldn't believe that Karofsky had the nerve to call. That was even sicker than those psychos who called. Just as he was about to delete them, he remembered that the police had told them to let the calls go to the answering machine, just in case. They could trace anything that looked like a lead, just in case Karofsky had an accomplice or there was a witness. He hesitated, and then pushed the button to return Karofsky's call.

It rang only once before Karofsky picked up. He didn't even say hello, he just waited for Karofsky to say something.

"Hello? Hudson?" Karofsky's voice was quieter than Finn had ever heard it before.

"Yeah. You called me."

"Listen. I know you don't believe me, but I didn't take Hum...Kurt. But I think I know who might have. Really. I mean, it's a possibility."

"You're right. I don't believe you."

"Listen, Hudson, _I didn't do it_. And if you don't help me now, then whoever did do it is going to get away with it. I'm going to take the fall and rot in jail and whoever has him will still have him or kill him or whatever he's done." Karofsky had started to shout and Finn thought he heard his voice start to break. He didn't know what to say and was about ready to hang up when another voice spoke. He quickly recognized it as Azimio's. "Look, there's somebody who hated Mr. Hummel's guts and wanted to get even with him. But we need a name." Azimio sighed, "I know Karofsky hasn't exactly been Hummel's best friend and I haven't either, but don't you owe it to Hummel to try to find the guy who _really_ did this to him?"

Finn dropped into his chair. That was what kept him from hanging up. He knew that he'd do anything to find Kurt. Maybe doing anything meant, just for this once, believing Kurofsky. And while he knew he wasn't that smart, if Kaorfsky was lying, then maybe Finn could trap him. But he'd need help and he knew where he could get it.

"Fine. What do you need?"

"Can you get into Mr. Hummel's records? There's somebody he fired about two months ago. We think that might be the guy." Finn thought for a moment. Kurt had helped Burt set up his computer with the records, and he was pretty sure that his stepdad hadn't listened to Kurt about not putting his password on a sticky note under the keyboard.

"Maybe. I'll call you back if I can."


	5. Chapter 5

Finn found Burt's password right where he thought it would be and logged on. The wallpaper picture was from the wedding, one of the four of them all laughing. Finn resolutely looked for files that might be worthwhile. After some poking around, he found one for payroll, and looked to see if anybody had dropped off. A Mark Heimstra had his last payment two months ago. Finn copied the address the last payment had been sent to and turned the computer back off.

He called Mike Chang first.

"Hello?"

"It's Finn. I need some help."

"What can I do?"

"It's weird. Karofsky called and said that he didn't do it but that he thinks a guy that Burt fired did."

"What makes him think that?"

"He didn't even say. But he asked me to look for the guy's name and call him back." Finn paused. "The weird thing is, he sounded scared. I think he was even crying a bit."

"He should be. Finn, he's scared because everybody knows he did it and he wants to get out of it."

"But what if he's right? What if somebody else has Kurt...right now? Mike, he's my brother, I've got to find him. I've got to."

"So what do you need me to do?"

"I want you to go with me to Karofsky's or this guy's address. I need backup in case Karofsky's trying to pull a fast one. Or...or if Kurt needs help. I'm going to call Sam, too."

"Not Puck? I'd want him with me in a dark alley."

"I can't ask him. He'd go back to juvie if he got involved in anything."

Mike sighed. "I think you're crazy, but okay. I'll call Sam, you call Karofsky back."

"Okay." Finn pulled up Karofsky's number and hit Talk.

"Finn. I almost gave up waiting."

"I have a name and address."

"What are they?"

"No way. I'm going with you."

There was silence on the other end. "I can handle this."

"I'm going with you or no deal. In fact, I'm picking you up and taking you there."

"Whatever. Just hurry."

A text message had come in while Finn was talking to Karofsky. "Sam's in. What do we do?"

"I'll pick you up, we'll get Sam, and then we're getting Karofsky and going."

Finn hesitated before putting his jacket on. He couldn't tell his mom or Burt. They'd worry, it would raise too much hope in them, or they'd prevent him from going. But if anything happened to him and to Kurt...Finn thought for a moment, and then wrote a quick note.

"I'm going to Mark Heimstra's house, just to check. Karofsky's going to be there, but I've got Sam and Mike with me. I love you both." He left it folded on his desk. They'd find it if he didn't come back, but wouldn't look there too soon.

His mom was sitting in the living room, trying to read. "Mom? Mike and I are going out for a bit. He said we'd go see a movie or something." He went over to her and hugged her. "I love you, mom." At least it wouldn't seem strange that he was being emotional.

"It's nice of him to take you. I love you, too."

Finn closed the door quietly behind him.

He picked up Mike, who was waiting outside. "You okay?"

Finn nodded, tightly. It was only about three minutes to Sam's house and Sam was waiting outside as well. "What's the plan? I mean, aside from getting Karofsky and going there."

Finn had thought this through. He had promised to protect Kurt and he might not have another chance. "If we don't find Kurt there, I'm going to ask you one big thing. First, even if you decide not to, you have to promise me not to tell anybody."

Sam was the first to agree, but Mike didn't hesitate for more than a second. "I'm going to _make_ Karofsky tell me what happened."

* * *

AN: Reviews are pure love. I almost never do serious writing (I mostly do original) so constructive criticism is really great.


	6. Chapter 6

Finn pulled up to Karofsky's house. He felt a sudden burst of uncertainty to see that Azimio was with Karofsky, but shrugged it off. They were still three to two, and he didn't think that either of the two bullies was expecting anything.

Karofsky didn't show the slightest hesitation about getting into the car. "More muscle. Good idea," he grunted, and Azimio said nothing.

The drive to Heimstra's address passed in silence. "Park at the other end of the block," Karofsky directed, and Finn silently bristled, but had to admit it was probably a good idea. _If_ this wasn't some mind game of Karofsky's. Near the unlighted house, Karofsky jerked his head in the direction of the porch. "Pumpkin's still on the porch. Good sign."

Sam's tone was as skeptical as Finn was feeling. "How's that a good sign?"

"Before he gets fired, he's a normal guy doing normal stuff. Halloween. Pumpkin. He gets fired, and six weeks later, he hasn't even cleaned the pumpkin rot off his porch. Not normal any more."

Finn frowned. If he had to think about it right now, he'd almost believe that Karofsky was trying to find Kurt, not trying to misdirect them.

"Let's go around the back," Mike said, quietly. "Easier to get in that way." There wasn't a light on inside the house, though it was just dark enough outside that a light would be normal. As they circled to the back, Mike cleared just enough snow from each basement window to be sure that there wasn't any light down there. "Boarded up," he said as he rose from the last one.

Finn looked at the back door. It had four different locks and it looked like somebody had even reinforced it with a steel plate. "That's gonna be tough to open."

"Not for me." Mike almost grinned as grabbed the tool bag Finn had brought, pulling out the hammer, and jumped into the branches of the tree in the back yard, climbing it effortlessly even with the hammer in one hand. The sound of a window smashing was fortunately smothered by a distant fire truck, though the houses were spaced so far apart Finn didn't even think that anybody would have heard.

After a moment, Mike opened the back door. "Come on in, gentlemen." Finn could see that Mike was more than ready for action. "I didn't look much upstairs. Separate to search?"

"Yeah. Meet in the basement. Karofsky, you and Sam take the upstairs, Mike, Azimio, and me will take the first floor."

Finn wanted to keep Karofsky and Azimio separate. They started with throwing open every door in the living room and kitchen, digging through any closet or space big enough to hide Kurt. He heard Karofsky and Sam upstairs moving around, doing the same thing. "Basement?" Azimio asked, saying the first thing Finn had heard him say all that afternoon.

There was a bad smell the moment they went downstairs. "Ugh, smells like something rot-" Mike stopped but not before Finn finished the thought in his mind.

* * *

Karofsky POV

Karofsky wanted to smash every piece of furniture in the place. Evans was starting to look in ridiculously tiny places, and Dave would have laughed at him if he hadn't been so desperate. Without saying anything, he headed downstairs and continued to the basement. There was a wooden kitchen chair in the way and he smashed it against the wall, letting off some of the pressure.

In the basement, he saw that Hudson had already opened all the big tool cabinets and left them open. Karofsky felt all his adrenaline going away. They hadn't found Hummel...and there were no other leads. They might never find him...or one of these days, somebody would find a shallow grave and identify whatever was left to find in it.

Azimio put a hand on his shoulder. "Man, he's not here."

"He has to be!" Karofsky rounded on his friend and nearly punched him. Azimio took a step back, hands held up, and then looked back and forth the length of the basement.

"The room's too small."

"What?" Evans' head was tilted like he was some kind of dog.

"The room's too small. It's not as long as the rest of the place and where are those boarded windows?" Karofsky looked around. Azimio was right.

"They should be on that end," Mike said, pointing to a row of neatly aligned tall tool cabinets.

Karofsky felt his energy return. "Those two...they're on wheels." Azimio, immediately understanding, pulled them out of the way. The two wheeled cabinets hid a door.

"Key, key, where's the key?" Sam shoved everything from the shelves in his search, while Azimio just took a chisel and forced the door open.

The smell was stronger and Karofsky felt like something had died right in the middle of his chest. Mike, though, grabbed a flashlight and swept it slowly across the dark room. Karofsky's entire body sagged in thankfulness as he saw Kurt Hummel, handcuffed to a foot of chain that was bolted against the far wall, naked and covered with cuts and bruises, head hanging in exhaustion or despair, and heard him emit a tiny whimper of apprehension. The idea of fastidious little Kurt cuffed in his own filth, ...he couldn't even process that.

Finn shoved him aside and knelt next to his brother. He turned Kurt's chin to face him and gathered him into his arms as best he could. "Kurt, I'm here, you're safe now, I promise, I've got you, we're going to get you out of here, come on, buddy, hey, just look at me, okay?" After a moment of hesitation, Kurt looked at Finn in genuine recognition and croaked in a tiny voice, "Finn. I knew you'd come. I knew it would be you," and turned his face into Hudson's chest.

Karofsky yanked his jacket off and handed it to Mike, who now was also kneeling at Kurt's side. If the world was different enough...if he was different enough...he'd have the right to be cradling Kurt in his arms. He'd even have the right to drop careful, gentle kisses on Kurt's face and hair, and Dave's jacket wrapped around him would be familiar and comforting. But the world and his own choices just weren't different enough for that.

Azimio had gone back to grab a hammer and was prising the bolt that held the handcuffs out of the wall. It slipped and Azimio couldn't keep it from glancing off Kurt's back. "Sorry, man," he muttered, but Kurt didn't even seem to notice. He was even smiling in relief as he looked up at Hudson, who was wiping his own eyes unashamedly.

Karofsky hadn't even noticed that Evans had gone until he saw his teammate take Mike's place, holding a glass of water. Kurt gulped the water so fast it spilled over his chin and Evans pulled the glass back, "Just sips, okay? There's all you want, but just sips, or you'll be sick." He held the glass again to Kurt's mouth and Kurt drank as Azimio finished wrenching the bolts out. Evans looked up at them, "I called the police and an ambulance. They said they'll be here soon."

Chang sounded like he was going to be sick. "Over here," he said, quietly. He pointed at a camera on the table, with printed pictures next to it and an envelope addressed to Burt Hummel. "He took photographs...and was going to send them to Kurt's dad." The table also held knives and a lighter and Karofsky didn't even realize that he had doubled over until Evans was shaking him. "Come on, we've got to go."

Finn tucked the jacket more closely around Kurt and added his own to it, carefully picking Kurt up like a sick child. Karofsky turned from envying Finn the absolute trust in Hummel's eyes and saw a figure coming down the stairs. The silhouette was holding a gun.

* * *

**AN: Thanks for the kind reviews! Sorry that evil cliffhanger is being evil but that's where the Faucet of Knowing What's Next turned off ever since the "Plot? We're Changing Your Plot" fairy came by. **


	7. Chapter 7

"Back against the wall!" Karofsky had only had a second to process the presence of the armed man before he came fully into the light and pointed the gun right at them. "And hands up!"

The others slowly, reluctantly obeyed, but Hudson kept Kurt held tight to his chest and didn't move an inch. Karofsky, acting on instinct, moved to the side slightly as well as backwards.

Hummel raised his head and said in the same clear, arrogant tone that had been his hallmark for so long, "Put me down, Peter." Finn looked confused and as much as he admired Finn's courage, Karofsky decided he had to back up whatever Hummel's plan was, since at least he_ had _a plan.

"Do it, _Peter_," he grunted.

Clearly conflicted, Hudson very gently lowered Kurt and supported him to the wall, where Hummel leaned and eyed Heimstra. "You are so very, very pathetic," Hummel announced in clear, imperious tones, like he was some kind of king addressing a peasant. "I doubt you even guessed that I was the one who got you fired. _I_ was the one who found out that you were embezzling and _I_ was the one who demanded that Dad fire you."

Karofsky gaped. Hummel might have had a plan but it sure looked like a terrible plan. Heimstra took a menacing step forward. "Shut it, you lit-"

"Oh, don't think that she left you just because you lost your job. She left you because you're a pathetic loser." Kurt actually took a step forward, catching himself with his shoulder against the wall when he stumbled, and then taking another. His eyes never left Heimstra's but Karofsky noticed that his left foot was jerking as if he were trying to kick some kind of moving target. It took him a moment but he figured it out. Kurt was trying to signal for them to run while he kept Heimstra engrossed. _That's still a dumb plan since it ends up with you_ dead_. _Karofsky's own plan wasn't much better, but what the hell. Heimstra was holding the gun now like he was going to pistol whip Hummel. Karofsky waited until it looked like Heimstra was going to take another step forward and charged.

He heard the gun go off and though he didn't even have time to think it, desperately prayed that his action hadn't killed Kurt. He was on the ground on top of Heimstra, the gun had rattled across the floor, and he couldn't stop punching until Azimio and Evans pulled him off by force. He turned, dreading seeing Kurt bleeding, or already dead.

Kurt had sunk to a sitting position on the floor and Karofsky's guts clenched in horror until he saw that there were no more injuries on him. Hudson was visibly shaking and Azimio was quietly being very, very sick in the corner. Chang had grabbed the gun and was holding it as though he thought it might go off by itself, while Evans was carefully putting the two jackets around Kurt again.

Finally, he heard sounds from outside. "Police, open up!"

"Down here!" he yelled back and went up to find them. Officer Hammond was the first one in and looked at him suspiciously. Karofsky shrugged in his general direction and led them downstairs. Slane took in the situation with a glance and knelt next to Kurt.

"The ambulance is coming in a minute. They'll get you to the hospital and we'll take your statement when you're ready." She looked up at Finn. "Can you tell me what happened, Mr. Hudson?"

"Uh...it was really all Karofsky's idea. He's the one who figured it all out."

"That's what whichever one of you called said."

"He risked his life." Kurt sounded absolutely confused and Karofsky couldn't really blame him.

"They," he jerked his thumb at the police, "They thought I did it and so I kind of had to figure it out." He cleared his throat and added, quickly, "I had to save my own ass."

"By trying to get yourself shot," Kurt commented, dryly. Karofsky for the life of him couldn't figure out what Kurt's look at him meant.

Two EMTs came into the room and began a quick, expert examination. One, a short-haired brunette, touched her radio. "Bring down the cutters, he's still got handcuffs and a Marley's ghost chain." She grinned at Kurt. "I probably wasn't supposed to say that." She stuck a thermometer in mouth and pulled it out after a moment. "Well, you've got dehydration, fever, some of those cuts don't look good, and there are some things we'll want to x-ray. But while I'm not supposed to say anything like this, I think you're going to be okay." She was carefully wiping his face and chest with something that looked like it sometimes stung, since Hummel was wincing every now and again. The other one, an older man, was doing the same with his hands and arms.

Kurt smiled at her shakily, "You had me at 'going to be okay'."

"Jerry Maguire is responsible for a lot." She looked around and snickered as she saw Azimio. "It's always the biggest ones who get sick. Or faint. Or both."

"Finn's scared of needles," Hummel volunteered and she snickered again as she fit a brace around his neck. "I don't think there's any injury there, but just to be safe."

A tall man came down the stairs with what looked like medium-sized Jaws of Life and cut away the handcuffs. The EMTs joined hands to create a seat for Kurt and brought him up the stairs and into the ambulance. Hudson climbed in behind them and took Kurt's hand as the doors closed behind them.

* * *

**AN: Just one chapter to go, I'm pretty sure. **

**The bunnies might not get out as quickly after this week, since a combination of a week off work and several long train or bus rides meant a lot of time to write. **


	8. Chapter 8

The police station was loud and seemed equally full of people wandering about and people rushing about urgently and purposefully. The officers had put him and the guys from Glee and the football team on a bench to wait and Azimio had gone to the bathroom to rinse the taste of puke out of his mouth. Karofsky pulled out his phone to call his parents. "Dad, it's Dave."

"Where are you, son?"

"I'm at the police station." He cut over his father's exclamations. "No, we found Hummel. I'm supposed to give a statement or something like that."

"I...I'll be there. What happened?"

"I've got to go." What Dave really meant was that he didn't want to talk. Now that he wasn't so scared for himself, hurt rushed in to fill all the empty spaces that fear had left. Despite his father's protests, both his parents had still been afraid that he'd done it, that he had maybe even killed Hummel and left the body somewhere.

He knew that he hadn't been himself, he knew that his grades were shot to hell once the rest of his life seemed to start collapsing around him with the realization that he wanted Hummel as much as he hated him, maybe more, but still, the idea that his parents thought that he'd kidnapped or killed somebody, that he'd go that far, it hurt. What he most wanted was to blow this place and go somewhere to be alone.

Azimio returned from the bathroom, sat down next to him, punched him in the shoulder, and asked, "So how does it feel to be the big detective hero, huh?"

"It sucks."

"Huh? I mean, you're a free man now and the police or somebody should like give you a reward, you're the hero!"

"Mom and Dad only said they believed me when I said I didn't do it. Maybe not that bad, but they still thought maybe I did." He stared at his feet.

"You're kidding me, right?"

"Wish I was." He heaved a long sigh. "Maybe they weren't even all that crazy. I kind of got...carried away with Hummel, you know? It got kind of personal, not just 'Out of the way, loser.'" He stopped looking at his shoes and looked at his friend.

"So? Now you maybe saved his life, that makes you even, that makes you better than even, doesn't it?"

"Yeah, but..."

"But what?"

Azimio had never doubted him for a minute and he had to tell somebody. "I did tell him that I'd kill him. That's why they tried to expel me, not because I got caught screwing Monica on Bieste's desk."

"Man, everybody says something like that sometime. Hell, if I killed everybody that I said I was gonna kill, there wouldn't be anybody left on the hockey team, not even you."

"I mostly meant it. I wanted him scared and that did it, but I said it to really scare him, to make him think that I would. It wasn't just blowing off steam."

"Okay, so he got on your nerves more than usual, big deal."

Dave almost wished that Azimio wasn't trying to make him feel better. "Maybe if I hadn't, they'd have started looking for Heimstra earlier. I looked like too good a suspect to pass by, I'd pushed him around, threatened to kill him, boom, he disappears, there's blood, hell, if _I'd _been a cop, _I'd_ have thought the only thing I had to do was break me into talking."

Azimio sighed and seemed to be digesting this. "Okay, so maybe you screwed up there, but you were the one who figured out where he was and who had him and _you _were the one who was dumb enough to charge the guy with the gun, when you could have just run and kept running." He punched Dave again. "So either you're still the hero or you're just plain stupid, and from all that crap in English, sometimes there's not a difference. Means I still get to call you a hero if I want to." He suddenly shot Karofsky a sharp glance, "Wait, did you just say that you _didn't _screw Monica on Bieste's desk? You disappoint me, Karofsky, you disappoint me, young man," he said, solemnly.

"Made a better story. Getting expelled for scaring Hummel, that's nothing. 'Sides, I could have screwed her on any desk if I wanted to and you know it." Azimio grinned and nodded enthusiastically. Dave wanted nothing more than to let it go at that. He didn't disappear anybody and he could have any girl he wanted who was worth wanting. He cleared his throat and decided to go for one of two. "I dunno, though, Hummel did grow a pair of decent-size ones, the way he distracted Heimstra to give us a chance to get out."

"Guess so." Azimio shrugged with one shoulder and didn't seem very interested. He looked at his watch. "When do we give our statements? Not that I'm minding the view right now." Karofsky was pretty sure that the women getting booked for something were hookers. Or maybe they were cops pretending to be hookers. If that happened anywhere other than on television. He didn't mind the view either, but it sure reminded him that there was something else he had to tell Azimio.

"Gotta say something about that." He really, really wondered if this was a good idea and was pretty certain that it wasn't, that as far as good ideas go, this was a bad idea. "Walk with me."

He led a confused Azimio a few feet away. He didn't want anybody else hearing, though maybe it wouldn't be a choice, depending on how mad and how loud Azimio got. "So anyway, like I said, I told Hummel that I'd kill him and I meant it to really scare him. I didn't want him talking about something I did." He realized that he'd phrased it that way so he could change his mind, say something else, say that Hummel saw him buying weed or something else that his parents would kill him for. _Man up._ "I...what I did was I kissed him."

"You what? Kiss like..." Azimio, Karofsky realized, couldn't even figure this out, it was like he'd said that Hummel saw him sprout wings and fly or had a Happy Meal at McDonalds with Osama bin Ladin or something that just doesn't happen because that's not how the world works.

"Yeah. I like him and one day he got into my face and we were alone so I...kissed him."

"But you like girls," Azimio pointed out, as if Karofsky was going to shake his head at his absent-mindedness, say "Oh, yeah, sorry, forgot that, I like girls, don't like Hummel, don't like guys, end of story."

"I like girls, yeah, but I also like guys." Azimio had lowered his head and Karofsky was mentally begging him to say something, anything. Instead, it was a cop who came up to him and said that they were ready for his statement and could he come this way, please. He followed the cop but turned around to look at Azimio, who was still staring at the ground.

Giving his statement might have been kind of interesting, since he had to keep searching his memory to get details exactly right and sometimes they were things he hadn't noticed he'd noticed, but he wanted to get out of there more than anything. When he did, he didn't see Azimio but he did see his parents, who came over to him. His mom had definitely been crying and he wasn't sure, but his dad looked a bit red-eyed, too.

His dad hugged him fiercely but he was still hurt and mad. "Now do you believe me?" he asked, stepping back, but when he saw their faces fell, he kind of wished he hadn't.

"Son...I'm sorry. I'm sorry that I doubted you at all, but you'd been scaring us a little, your grades, your moods, and we didn't want to say...but we realized we'd been avoiding it." His dad squared his shoulders. "What we were worried about was maybe that you'd gotten a head injury. We shouldn't have kept it to ourselves. We thought that maybe something had happened with you and the Hummel boy but maybe you didn't even_ know _it had happened."

Well, that wasn't what he'd been expecting. "Uh, about that. Uh, there's something else." He looked at them, at the love and concern in their eyes, and took his second leap of faith that evening. "Kurt wasn't really lying. I was trying to scare him because...well, I said that maybe he was lying because he liked me, but really, I was lying because I like him and he found out and I thought he'd tell everybody if I didn't scare him."

"Oh, Davey..." His mother was really crying now and he wished to God that she'd stop. "Davey, you didn't tell us? How could you think we wouldn't...that we'd reject you?"

"You're our son, and because you're our son, you..." His dad was struggling for the words. "You...you're the air we breathe, you're..."

Then they were hugging the breath out of him. Since he was taller than either of them, he could see over their heads when he raised his own head and wiped his eyes. Azimio was watching, looked like he was going to come closer or say something, but then backed away, but not before raising a thumb in Dave's direction.

* * *

**AN: Sorry for the delay—the plot bunnies for this one went into hibernation.**

**I hope this works! I got the impression from the show that Dave's father was more the kind who wouldn't say much one way or another about homosexuality to his kids, maybe the occasional passing derogatory term that was more or less standard for his generation, but never sitting down and saying that it was wrong or saying that homophobia is wrong. He didn't seem to show any signs of automatic dislike or mistrust towards Kurt, and you'd think it might emerge there if he had any serious feelings one way or another.**

**One more chapter to wrap things up!**


	9. Chapter 9

**AN: Aaargh, sorry to be so late updating, but this would let me write only so far and then just stop dead in its tracks and look at me with this "yeah, I'm giving you writer's block, whatcha going to do about it, anyway?" smirk. **

**Hope you like the ending.**

* * *

School the next morning was like Bizarro World for Dave Karofsky. Some of the Gleeks actually came up to him voluntarily and thanked him for saving Hummel. Even when he grunted that he was saving his own ass there, some of them even repeated their thank you. Okay, Brittany Piers asked if it was true that he got Kurt out of a bottle of wine, he answered, "Not really," and he realized two periods later that she was probably thinking about The Cask of Amontillado that they'd read in English. The world was just plain twisted when something she said was one of the easier things for him to figure out.

The other weird thing was that Azimio was avoiding him. Karofsky caught up with him at lunch and asked what the hell was up with that.

"You lied to me, man. All that time that you realized you were-" he looked around and lowered his voice, "that you were _that_, and you never told me. You even lied to me."

"I didn't want to. Look, I'm sorry, but can you blame me for not wanting to say it?"

Azimio stared him straight in the eyes. "Yes. Shit, dude, you were scared of what I'd think and that just ain't right."

Karofsky wouldn't have let anybody say that he was scared of anything, not even Azimio, but he had to admit that it was right. He wasn't just waiting until he got over it, wasn't just embarrassed, but he was scared. And he was still scared. Not that he was going to talk about it. "So then what was up with my parents, where you were all thumbs up?"

"I was glad that your family was okay with it, but it's just going to take me some time to be okay with it."

Fair enough, he guessed, but it still felt weird and wrong to be going through the halls without his brother from another mother right there.

He was late getting to the locker room for gym class and could hear Azimio laying down the law about something through the doors. "-so it was like some freaking after school special thing or whatever, but anyway, it bugged me seeing somebody half-dead because of who his father is, you know? So anyway, what I'm saying now is that nobody gets slushied or shoved or dumpstered because they like boys." It was the first time that day at school that Karofsky actually smiled a real smile. It would take his man Azimio a while, maybe, but they'd get back there, eventually.

When he got home that afternoon, he was part of a group text from Hudson. He wasn't sure what he thought of that, but it was still good to know. Hummel was going to be kept another night in the hospital for more observation and safe refeeding, whatever that was, but he was doing better than anybody had expected. When Karofsky's mom asked how Kurt was and he told her, that was when she said that he should visit.

"Uh-"

"Of course you should."

"If your friend is sick, you should bring him flowers." That was Stacey and he really didn't need a seven-year-old advising him. "That's what people do."

"That's a nice idea, dear."

"Mom, I'm really not the flowers type."

"But he might be," she said with an air of certainty that was starting to give him the creeps up and down his spine. Was his own _mother_ trying to set him up with Kurt?

"You should totally get him flowers," Stacey concluded. "I'll go to the store with you and help you pick them out."

His dad came home early and Dave thought that was the moment he was being rescued, but all his own father did was say, "Never argue with both women in your life, kiddo."

Karofsky heaved a martyred sigh. Not that he didn't want to see Hummel, but hospitals sucked and it would be awkward. On the other hand, Stacey was staring at him and he really had been crappy with her lately, so...

At the store, it was a struggle to steer her away from the roses, irises, and other Valentiney flowers. It was a struggle like the ocean is a bit damp, but he pulled the trump card of "I think he'd like these" to get her to agree to a simple bouquet of tulips. In Econ, they'd been reading about the tulip mania, so it was almost like an inside joke.

After dropping her back home, he drove to the hospital. When he got to Hummel's room, he could hear voices and so took a quick look in. Kurt's dad was dozing in a chair next to the window and the place looked like a flower shop, but what made Karofsky stay in the doorway was the guy sitting next to Kurt, holding his hand, and they were looking into one another's eyes like it was some kind of Disney movie. Seriously, he wouldn't have been surprised if there had been pink hearts circling their heads. It was that private school kid he'd called Kurt's boyfriend earlier and it looked like his taunt had been right on the mark.

"When I saw the paper on the plane, I almost ran up the aisle to tell the pilot to go faster," the guy was laughing softly and shaking his head.

"That'd get you on the terrorist watch list."

"The Terrorist of _Love,_" the guy exaggerated, sounding so relieved to have something to laugh at that he'd laugh at anything.

"It'll teach you to go camping. In the bottom of the Grand Canyon. Roughing it should mean a hotel with only three stars."

The guy actually leaned in to kiss Hummel and Dave had had enough. This stung and he just wanted to get out of there. He looked around, saw an old woman sitting in a wheelchair, handed her the tulips without a word, and left.

He wasn't exactly hurrying out since he didn't want to go home quite yet. He heard somebody running behind him and then his name. "Dave? Dave Karofsky?"

Great, just what he needed, Mr. Prep. "Yeah?"

"I wanted to say hello."

"Hello." _Fine, good for you, now go away._

"If you wanted to talk to Kurt, I didn't mean to monopolize him, I only saw you were there a second ago."

"Naah. My mom wanted me to check on him and he's looking okay."

"He _is_ going to be fine, thanks to you." Why did this guy have to be so smooth and polished and looking so damned perfect for Kurt? Even his height was right. He bet that this guy cooked like a dream, probably spoke ten languages, knew about all the kinds of stuff that Kurt liked, and was a perfect gentleman except when Kurt didn't want him to be one. And that was something Karofsky didn't want to think about.

He finally said something. "Look, you won, Kurt picked who he wants to be with, and no contest, really, the one who's always pushed him around or, well, you. But I'm not interested in that whole 'let's be friends thing' with you, since, well, I just don't." _Don't want to be the one you look at like you're sorry for me, don't want you being so inhumanly polite to me_.

"I understand."

"Bet?" Was this guy some kind of Perfect Gay Boyfriend robot?

The guy fished out his phone and tapped it a few times. "Just in case you ever..." he held the phone out to Dave. "His name is Greg. And he's single."

Karofsky was about to take the phone and make Perfect Gay Boyfriend need an app for getting the phone out of his ass, when he noticed that Greg was well, kind of hot. Not entirely his type, and he didn't much like the idea of going out with somebody who was friends with PGB, but, well...there are lots of good fish in the sea. And besides, once Azimio came around entirely, he'd have somebody helping him look. There wasn't much that you can't accomplish with a good friend.


End file.
